Google’s Think Performance Event – 2012

On September 27th, I attended “Google Think Performance” at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA. The event was one in a series of Google “Think Events” that include Think Branding, Think Travel, Think B2B, & many more. The theme of Think Performance was to help Direct Response Advertisers from all verticals start thinking about how consumer behavior is changing with the growing number of users visiting the web on new devices (i.e. Smartphones, Tablets) as they research, identify and purchase online. During the event, there were a variety of guest speakers (both “Googlers & Non Googlers”) who provided information to help brands of all types and sizes “win the moments that matter” whether that is a purchase, email sign up, store locator inquiry, a download, share, etc.

Key Takeaways

Here are my five key takeaways from the event:

Stop Pushing Mobile Off Until “Next Quarter”– Consumers won’t forgive or return to those websites that do not provide an eye-pleasing and intuitive mobile experience to complete a desired action. Companies need to implement mobile friendly experiences now!

The Year Of Mobile Was Many Years Ago – Advertisers are allocating 1% of their budgets towards the mobile market while over 20% of consumer time is spent engaging with media through mobile devices. Compare this to the fact that 6% of time is spent consuming print media and over 25% of ad budgets are allocated to print advertising.

Optimize toward the “Lifetime Value of a Customer” – Gone are the days of optimizing strictly based on what you are willing to pay for a new customer. Advertisers must shift their focus to optimizing and tracking their online campaigns based on the true Lifetime Value of a new customer. This is a necessity in order to succeed in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace of digital advertising.

Keep Testing New Opportunities – The Google Display Network, YouTube Ads, Mobile Ads, Social Ads and all that is new at Google must be factor into your marketing mix. The companies that will succeed in the future are the early adopters who constantly learn, test, and optimize as they leverage these new services.

Forget About “HITS”– One speaker referred to Page Views, Impressions, and Clicks (also known as “HITS”) as “How Idiots Track Success”. In order to win the moments that matter advertisers and marketers must focus on the metrics that matter specifically to your business keeping in mind that all businesses are different. For example, 90% of visitors to a “home security” website convert the same day while the “online dating industry” sees only 42% of visitors convert in the same day. Your strategy and analytics must account for these company-specific metrics.

Bonus Takeaway: Bring Your “A” Game to Google Think Events – Last but not least if you are going to attend a Google Think event with Avinash speaking, then be prepared for the brutal honest truth. At Think Performance 2012, Avinash went through the attendee list and evaluated the customer experience of those in attendance. The result was that a handful of companies received poor reviews and “hurt feelings” while a select few companies who “won the moment that mattered” got a prize – a set of $250 Skull Candy earphones from Google.

Please visit Think Performance 2012 Summary for all of the speaker summaries and key takeaways from Google Think Performance 2012. If you wish to learn more about all of the Google Think Events please visit the Think With Google Website. You can also speak with your Elite SEM Account Manager for additional information or for a copy of the presentations below.

About the Author

Zach Morrison

Zach Morrison brings over 10 years of experience in digital marketing with core expertise spanning search engine marketing, search engine optimization, display and social advertising, shopping, and conversion rate optimization. As one of the early members of Elite SEM, Zach has played an integral role in the growth and evolution of the company, as he has assumed a wide variety of roles and responsibilities.
In addition to his work at Elite SEM, Zach provides thought leadership to many leading publications such as Mashable, American Express Open Forum, PPC Hero, and SEMPO. Zach is also an adjunct instructor at NYU and a featured speaker at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology), Grovo Expert Series, Search Engine Strategies Conferences (SES), eTail, and Online Marketing Institute. He also serves as a member of Google Remarketing & Display Council, Google Mobile Champion Team, and Kenshoo Agency Council.